In the Bible, David's family was troubled by the choices he'd made. Psalms 38:11-12NIV reads, "My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds" my neighbors stay far away. Those who seek my life set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day they plot deception". David also struggled in his heart, "I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart" states Psalms 38:8NIV.
He also had difficulties expressing his true feelings with others, "I am like a deaf man, who cannot hear, like a mute, who cannot open his mouth; I have become like a man who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply" David says in Psalms 38:13-14. This is where I am at personally. I do not struggle with exactly the same afflictions as David, but similarly in my past I have made poor choices that deeply tarnished my relationship with certain family members. Even after attending family counseling there remains a distance. I have been abandoned, and I also have chosen to abandon others.
As David did, I beg of the Lord, "do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. For your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down upon me...My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear...I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God...I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin...O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior" (Psalm 38NIV).
This psalm restores my faith that God sees and hears me, even when my efforts are too weak to reach those I've harmed. There is hope in the Lord for both the suffering and those touched by the lives of the suffering. Because of God's grace, we can be victors rather than victims.
(this post is in honor of NEDA week)
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